The cinema is a traditional film showing place. Cinema operators buy permissions and reels of films from film distributors, and release screen schedules to the public.
Cinemas show a specific film at a specific time according to a predetermined screen schedule. Movie viewers then watch films in a cinema with a movie ticket.
Generally, a plurality of cinemas and corresponding film distributors work with a theater chain to standardize the film schedule. In the first showing period, film distributors distribute films to cinemas only, which is the only way for customers to watch a new movie. One issue with the above method is that customers can watch films only in cinemas rather than anywhere and at any time. A second issue is that the customer can only watch specific films at certain corresponding times. It's very difficult for a customer to watch a film after the first showing period. In some instances it is not convenient or even possible for customers living in remote regions to go to cinemas.
After the first showing period, some films will have a second showing period on the internet. Video platforms add the film data into their server after gaining the necessary permissions from broadcasters. A user watches films via online streaming directly or after downloading the film through visiting video platforms' servers via mobile phones, computers or any number of other network terminals. However, the visual effects and viewing experience on a network terminal is far inferior to the visual effects and viewing experience in a cinema. At the same time, network terminals are capable of showing a movie to multiple people simultaneously by using large-size screen monitors. In this case, video platforms cannot figure out the number of people actually watching a film even if the total number of times a film was played can be exactly calculated. Thus, film distributors cannot record and count the number of people who are actually watching a particular movie. Further, illegal copying is also uncontrollable. In above two cases, the interests of the film distributors are damaged.